Journey to the Dawn

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters associated with it.

Chapter 2: Dreams of the Future

Hinata walked silently behind Naruto as her face blushed furiously. "How embarrassing . . . . "

"Hmm? You say something?"

"Nothing!" however it wasn't the case as she still felt mortified for having to have been carried like that all over the countryside. But because she was so engrossed in her thoughts she failed to realize that her traveling companion had stopped moving.

Hinata stopped as she appeared to have hit something. She soon tilted her head to see a pair of blue eyes looking back.

"Are you sure you're OK? You seem pretty out it" said Naruto as he put his forehead against hers. "But you do feel slightly warm. So you might be coming down with a fever".

Just with that action she appeared to have fainted again.

"Ehh? Hinata!" as he grabbed her to make sure she wouldn't fall. He then sighed as he looked down to her sleeping form. "What am I going to do with you?"

He then picked her up and resumed his walking again as a grin appeared on his face. "Interesting that they sent someone like her to kill me". Naruto chuckled, "and such a cute assassin too".

~ Countryside Forest (nighttime) ~

"Did I faint again?" as her eyes began to flutter open.

"I think you need to eat better. Are you anemic or something?"

Hinata immediately sat up to see a fire in front of her with her traveling companion right across from it. "No, I . . . . I . . . . I . . . ."

"You don't get out much do you?"

Her face turned slightly red as she gave a nod in confirmation.

Naruto gave a chuckle. "Then I guess this trip ought to be good for you".

Silence passed between the two until Naruto got up to retrieve a few things from his bag. One by one he appeared to have been bringing out items for use of their dinner.

Hinata watched silently feeling awkward that she wasn't doing anything but watching. But due to her nature she was unable to speak up as all she could do was sit as her blond companion got to work.

After a few minutes dinner was ready.

"Here you go" said Naruto as he handed the pale girl her supper.

The Hyuga heiress looked down to the meal in surprise. Suffice to say she wasn't feeling too hungry anymore. "Naruto-kun, can I ask what this is?" In the bowl in front of her it appeared that there was some sort black and green entity which reeked of a smell she had never thought was possible.

Naruto looked up from his dinner and swallowed before speaking. "Eggs over rice".

"Eggs?"

"Yeah, eggs".

" . . . . Naruto-kun, have you ever cooked before?"

The blond placed his hand to his chin as he mused carefully over the question. After a short time, "Yeah a few. If I do say so myself, they turn out pretty OK".

Hinata looked down to her meal and gave it a questionable sniff. "Well it might not be as bad as it looks" as she started to pick up a portion. Slowly as she drew it closer to her lips she began to quiver at how it would taste. In one burst of courage she stuck it in her mouth and began to chew. " . . . ."

"How is it?" asked Naruto.

In response to his question the Hyuga girl began to turn blue and soon keeled over.

"Hinata!"

The poor girl was then coughing up any remnants as she washed her mouth out of the taste.

"You didn't have to eat it if it was that bad" as he gave a strained chuckle.

"But it would have been impolite" said Hinata as she looked down sadly.

Awkward silence soon consumed the atmosphere. Neither of them really knew what to do in such a situation.

Hinata out of nervous habit began to press her index fingers together while Naruto continued to look at the fire. The pale girl's face slightly turned red as she looked back and forth from the blond. "Can I . . . . "

"Hmm?"

" . . . . Can I try to cook this time?"

The blond youth looked to her in surprise. However he had no objections.

She then got to work preparing the same dish. In the matter of a few minutes her version of egg over rice was then completed.

"Wow this is amazing!" said Naruto as he took a bite. "You truly are amazing Hinata-chan".

She blushed at the compliment as she looked down in embarrassment. "It's nothing that great".

"I think you should be in charge of cooking from now on. I'll take care of the supplies if we need them".

"Ehh?"

"By the way Hinata where did you learn to cook?"

Hinata looked surprised at the question, but then turned solemn. "It was just something I did part time as I usually liked to cook for my family. My little sister especially enjoyed some of the things I made".

"That's nice of you. But if you really liked cooking then why not do it as a full time thing?"

She looked away as her eyes reflected a bit of sadness. "My father wanted me to follow a different path so it really wasn't an option". Hinata looked up to see Naruto staring at her worriedly. She then waved her hands frantically. "But don't misunderstand! I also wanted to do it for my own reasons".

"Your own reason?"

Hinata nodded, "I wanted to earn the acceptance of my family and I . . . . also wanted to be stronger for myself".

"That's a pretty good dream" smiled Naruto.

After finishing their meal they cleaned up and were soon readying themselves to rest for the night. As Naruto sat against the tree settling next to the fire his companion settled in a tree next to him.

"What was your dream Naruto-kun?"

"Dream?"

"You mentioned it when you saved me. So what is your dream? Or is it too personal?"

"Nahh, it's OK. But are you sure you want to hear my dream?"

Hinata nodded.

Naruto let out a devilish chuckle before looking over to the pale girl. "My dream is . . . ."

"Your dream is?"

"To try every kind of noodle in the world!"

" . . . . Ehh?"

"I went on this journey so that I could taste every kind of noodle there is in the world" as he pumped his fist. "I can't wait to try some of Japan's famous ramen and yakisoba".

Hinata looked to him dumbfounded. " . . . . Is he serious?" "That's a nice dream?"

The blond youth grinned before letting out a howling laughter. "Just kidding, it's only one of the side things I want to do".

"You were joking with me?"

"Yep, my real dream is a bit more complicated than that" he smiled.

"You're not going to tell are you" she frowned.

"It's a secret, but maybe one day I'll tell you".

With that the pair went to sleep for the night waiting for the next day.

~ Countryside Forest (morning) ~

Early morning, the two were soon off as Naruto took point with Hinata following closely behind.

The pale girl wanted to be as useful as possible if she was going to be traveling with Naruto. So at this time she was looking for anything she could do to make their trip more leisurely. That's when she spotted her first thing.

"Isn't that heavy?" as she eyed the huge backpack on the blonds' back.

"Not really and besides I need to carry it since it has all the things I'm going to need along the way".

"But I have an easier way" said Hinata. "Do you have a piece of paper and something to write with?"

"Yeah sure". He put down his pack as he pulled out a slip of paper and an ink brush. "What are you going to do with it?"

Hinata immediately got to work as she wrote several seals on it. Before long she handed the paper back to Naruto. "Alright, do you know what chakra is?"

"Yeah, it's that energy thing that mostly ninjas use, why?"

"Can you draw it out?"

"Sure"

"If you can charge your chakra into it and make these hand seals" as she started showing the symbols. "Then all you have to do is place it on your pack".

"Alright". Naruto perfectly mimicked the move and placed the paper onto the bag, and the next moment it disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Whoa! What just happened?"

"That was a storage technique. It can virtually hold any weight and size in whatever medium you choose. It's a really useful thing to have when you travel" smiled Hinata.

"Cool, but how do I get it back out?"

"Simple, by charging your chakra and calling it back out with your mind. You can actually take it a step further by having multiple seals for the use of different items".

"Wow Hinata with an explanation like that I could almost swear you were a ninja or something".

"Ehh . . . . So where are you going first?" asked Hinata as she tried to change the subject.

"Well there's a farming village up a head and I need to go there to restock on some supplies. It's going to be a while before I get another chance".

She nodded as they were off.

It didn't take long for the pair to arrive in the village, but a few things caught their attention immediately as it wasn't something they could ignore.

In some distance away a group of punkish looking samurai were beating on what appeared to be some defenseless villagers. Among them were an old man and a pre-teen who were doing their best to not get killed.

"You little shits are late on your taxes and we're here to collect".

"You know how mad the lord gets when your late on your payments".

"I'm sorry, it can't be helped" said the old man as he struggled to stay conscious. "We just need more time".

"It isn't fair what you are doing" added the boy. "How are we supposed to meet your demands with this constant harassment?"

The punkish man laughed. "Look here boys! It seems we got ourselves a troublemaker amongst the sheep" as he drew his sword. "It looks like we're going to have to teach him some manners!"

"Inari!"

The boy instinctively covered himself for the worst, but upon not feeling any pain he looked back to see his attacker being restrained by some blond guy.

"Who the hell are you?" the punk samurai sneered.

"Uzumaki Naruto!" he declared. "Wanderer extraordinaire and part-time janitor!"

"Janitor?" asked the dumbfounded punks.

"Yeah because someone has to take care of the trash" as he landed an uppercut to his detainee.

Upon that action the rest of the gang pulled out their swords as they engaged the blond.

Meanwhile Hinata went to examine the villagers to survey their conditions. "Is everyone OK?"

In response, they all seemed relatively fine since their intervention was early enough to prevent any serious harm. However one case caught her eye to which she quickly began to apply first aid. "Are you OK sir?"

The old man smiled wryly as he tried to reassure the girl of his condition. "Everything's fine now that you and that young man arrived. Any later that man would have turned my grandson into ribbons".

"Don't say stupid things grandpa I could've dealt with them!" exclaimed the adolescent.

"Dealt with who?"

The trio looked to see the blond standing behind them looking to them curiously as he had his hands in his pocket.

"Naruto-kun, what happened to all those guys?"

"They ran off already after receiving an Uzumaki special. Can't blame them for being unable to do anything against my coolness" Naruto smirked.

"God, a dumb blond" muttered the boy.

"You say something?" asked Naruto threateningly.

"Yeah, you're a dumb blond" reiterated the boy.

"Why you little!"

"Don't Naruto-kun!"

~ Lord's Mansion ~

"You imbeciles failed to collect taxes from worthless garbage! What am I paying you louts for?"

"We're sorry Gato-sama. But there were some unexpected interference by this really strong guy. That guy was a monster".

"You fools are supposed to be the best around! And you're telling me that one man did this to all of you!" as he pointed out all the injured in the room.

"Please forgive us Gato-sama. It will not happen again".

Gato stood up, "Get out of here!" pointing to the door. "I'll call you when I need you later!"

"Yes Gato-sama!" said the gang as they immediately filtered out of the room.

The old man sat back down, but was immediately surprised as their appeared to be another in the room.

"You're taking quite a bit of time" said the mysterious shadow.

"Many apologies" stuttered Gato. "But it's taking longer than I thought to get what you asked for".

"Time is of the essence and we require the territory to push onto the next step of our plan".

"Yes of course".

"You will be awarded for your trouble. However if you are unable to do as we ask then you shall simply be . . . . removed".

Gato flinched at the threat. Although he was rich and powerful in status, the mysterious being was not someone he could buy out with any form of materialism. He also knew that no number of bodyguards could protect him if his 'client' decided to get angry. The fact is, he was already treading on thin ice since he was not living up to what the mysterious man wanted.

"Don't worry, it's only a matter of time before I get it. A little patience is all I ask for" quivered the old man.

The mysterious shadow glared at him before turning around. "See that you get it done. But know that I am watching" and with that he disappeared leaving no clue to who or even what he was.

Gato gulped at the threat he was given. He then immediately stormed out of his room and turned towards his attendant. "Gather the gang; I have a job for them!"

~ The Village ~

"I'd like to thank you once again for your assistance. My name is Tazuna and I'm one of the residents of this here village" he said as they were all now sitting around his table.

"It's not a problem" smiled Naruto.

"We're glad that we just made it in time" smiled Hinata.

Tazuna nodded as he then turned his attention to the boy. "This kid here is my grandson. Now go introduce yourself properly boy".

The boy grunted in annoyance but soon complied. "I'm Inari, it's nice to meet you" as he looked to the corner.

Naruto's eye perched up to the kid's unusual action. "It's not very proper to address people like that. You'd usually look at them when you're talking".

"There's no reason to do that for a dumb blond".

"Ehh?" as Naruto started to feel pissed at the adolescents answer. "Do you care to say that again?"

"Yeah! You're a dumb blond who didn't mind his own business and now our village is going to be in more trouble thanks to you! You should have butted out and did nothing! Then at least things would have been better that way!" Inari got up and ran to his room followed by slamming his door.

Naruto to say the least was stunned to the violent outburst followed by Hinata.

Tazuna sighed, "I'm sorry for my grandson's behavior. However he has had a rough time and hasn't quite gotten over that incident yet".

"Incident?" asked Hinata.

He nodded, "You see Inari was not always like this. He used to be a very cheerful kid. But he lost his father who was my son-in-law at a young age. Although he did find someone to look up too he died not long ago by those men how attacked us earlier. After that . . . . he just wasn't the same".

"How sad" said Hinata as she felt a tear to her eye.

Naruto looked down sternly as he processed what he was told.

Tazuna gave a strained chuckle. "Well enough of this matter. You two are welcomed to stay here as guests. My daughter will show you to your room".

The woman smiled and led them to their room as the pair walked a slow distance behind.

"Naruto-kun, do you think things will be OK?' Hinata whispered. "From what Tazuna-san said I'm very worried for what this means for everyone else".

"I'm worried too" responded Naruto. "But I'm not sure what to do. If I interfere further with this matter I might makes things even worse".

"But Naruto-kun, we can't just leave them like this. These people need help".

"I know, but . . . . what should I do?"

"This will be your room here"

The pair looked up to see the woman opening the door showing them in. "Such a cute couple. It must be nice traveling together like this".

"We're not a couple!" Hinata blushed followed by Naruto.

"My mistake" she chuckled. "But if that's the case would it be OK for you two to share a room?"

"It'll be fine" said the blond. ""I'll sleep on the floor while Hinata-chan can take the bed".

"OK then, I'll go get some spare sheets".

As soon as the woman left the pale girl turned to her room companion. "I'm sorry for the trouble" she said sadly.

"There's no need to apologize, and besides a cute girl needs to have her beauty sleep" smiled Naruto.

Hinata blushed as she was unable to retort to the flattering compliment.

Night soon fell as everyone was fast asleep. However a certain blond was rolling back and forth sweating intensely from the dream he was having. But a moment later, he soon sat up holding his face as his eyes were wide open from shock. But after having some time to calm down he got up and left.

"It's that dream again" sighed Naruto. Although it was more like a memory of the past. His mind began to dwell around it as his face began to contort in anger. Soon a terrifying red glow started to form as his eyes started to turn yellow.

But he was then popped out of his stupor when he noticed one of the doors was opened. Curious, Naruto took a look and found the adolescent boy sitting on the porch overlooking the area.

The blond at first wanted to leave him alone. However, something compelled him to sit with him.

"What do you want?" asked Inari roughly. "Wanted to raid the fridge while you were here freeloader".

Naruto calmly sat beside him as he looked to the distance. "I heard about everything. I'm sorry to hear all that stuff that's happened to you".

Inari narrowed his eyes as he bit his lip. "What do you know about it? Do you honestly think you can understand what it means to lose someone close to you?"

"Yes, yes I can" said Naruto.

His eyes widened slightly in shock.

"But you shouldn't let something like that drag you down. Sure it's sad, but there are still people left in this world that cares for you. Although you have lost something you pick yourself up and protect what you have left with everything you got".

Inari stared at him wide eyed to his speech, but immediately came back to his senses. "But it doesn't change the emptiness left behind by loss".

Naruto gave a slight chuckle. "Well if it's any consolation, although people may leave our lives at times they will always still exist here" pointing to Inari's heart. "And if you're particularly religious there is no such thing as good-bye, but so long for now".

The adolescent felt choked up to what his sitting companion had to say, but it was short lived as he sniffed the air. "Do you smell that?"

"Yeah something is burning".

Inari soon stood up and surveyed the area until he noticed a giant tower of smoke emanating from a certain area of the village. His eyes bulged as he realized what was being burned.

"Oh no! The store houses!"

"What?"

"We have to light those out! All our reserves are there! If there destroyed the village is finished!"

"We need to get help then. Judging by the smoke the fire must be huge. We're going to need help lighting it out".

"There's no time for that! I have to go doing something about it now!"

"Inari! Wait!" yelled Naruto, but the boy was already half way gone as he made his way towards that section of the village. "Damn it, what do I do?"

Naruto looked between the house and to the growing fire behind it. "I'm going to need more help with this".

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" exclaimed Inari as he was still running towards the store houses.

Upon arrival, some villagers were already on the scene with more coming to save their assets. However it wasn't looking good as the fire had already spread so far. Additionally, the water well appeared to have been damaged which made water transport impossible and the river nearby was simply too far to make any difference. So the only option left was to save what they could.

Inari immediately ran into one of the store rooms taking out whatever he could as other villagers were also doing the same. But time was not on their side as the fire appeared to have been spreading faster than it should have.

"This is taking too long" as he brought out his most recent cargo.

"We're here to help now!"

The young man looked up to see Naruto followed by many others arrive as they immediately got to work on the task at hand.

"We might just make it" as he felt a sliver of hope fill in him.

The villagers then began to work more effectively as they formed human chains to quickly move things out faster into safer areas. However there simply weren't enough of them as many other store houses began to crumble to the ground.

"We have to save some of the oil!" said Inari as he ran to a particular building.

"It's too dangerous! Don't do it!" called Tazuna as he began to chase after his grandson. But a shoulder grab soon stopped his progression as a blond blur stepped in front of him.

"Just keep helping with things here. I'll go make sure Inari is safe" as Naruto ran off in the boy's direction.

"Let me help as well" called Hinata as she ran right behind him.

Inari struggled to move one of the massive jugs. But it proved difficult as the intense flames were beginning to sap his strength. Not to mention the anxiety of how some of the flames were getting dangerously close to some of the oils.

"You really are a dumb kid aren't you?"

He looked back to see a grinning blond along with a pale brunette right behind him.

"Something this big you're going to need help to move" as the pair took positions around the jar and started moving it out.

"Naruto-kun we have to hurry before the fire reaches the oil".

"I know, just focus on getting this thing out".

At this point, the trio was making good time in moving it out. However the building integrity was failing too fast and it wasn't long before objects started to come falling down.

"That was close" said Inari as he narrowly dodged a flaming portion of the roof.

"It's getting too dangerous. We need to leave now" said Hinata.

"No, we have to save at least one jar".

"Watch out!"

Inari and Hinata looked up to see a flaming support beam begin to collapse on them. In that instant neither of them could react fast enough to do something about it. So in that moment their third member pushed them both out of the way as the pair landed to the ground away from the immediate danger.

"Naruto-kun!" exclaimed Hinata horrified at what just happened.

There on the ground Naruto was now trapped under the rubble as fire began to spread around him.

"Get out of here! The oil is going to explode soon!"

"I can't leave you here!" as she attempted to free him. But it was proving unsuccessful as more rubble started to fall.

"Hinata just go! Don't worry about me!" yelled Naruto.

"No! I can't leave you like this!"

The blond youth grunted in agitation. "Inari! Take Hinata and get the hell out of here! There is no time left!"

"But we can't leave you like this!" said Inari as his heart started to feel heavy from the situation.

Naruto gritted his teeth. "I'll be fine, but you two get out of here first!"

With a sickening feeling, Inari grabbed Hinata as he ran out of the building.

"No don't! We have to save Naruto-kun!"

But regardless of her pleas he didn't look back as he dragged the pale girl out of there.

Momentarily the building exploded sending the pair flying away from the aftershock.

Morning came as a little less than half of the reserves were saved. Some villagers were sad that they had lost so much while others were happy that at least something was salvaged. But two people in particular were still in shock from what just happened.

"It's my fault" cried Inari. "It's my entire fault. If I just left it alone then he would have been alive. God what have I done!"

Hinata continued to stare at the wreckage as tears streamed from her eyes as she reflected on what happed. "Naruto-kun . . . . Naruto-kun . . . . Naruto-kun . . . . why did you have to die? It wasn't supposed to be your time yet. So why? Why did this happen?"

"What happened?"

"Naruto-kun . . . . he died saving us . . . . It isn't fair for him to die like this".

"Wow, thanks for taking so much consideration of me".

"Ehh?" as she turned around, her heart felt like it could have stopped at what she saw. "You're alive!"

"I told you I would be fine" smiled Naruto.

"Naruto-kun . . . ."

"Ahh don't cry Hinata, you see I'm al- ooowwwwwwww"

Naruto turned to see Inari looking angrily at him as he bit his lip trying not to cry anymore.

"You stupid blond! I thought you died in there!"

"Great way to show your appreciation! You usually don't kick a guy in the shin to show how much you care!"

"You deserve worse you moron for making us worry like that!"

"Why you little punk!"

But the argument was soon defused as the Hyuga heiress captured him in a hug.

"Huh?"

"Please don't make me worry like that anymore" sniffled Hinata. "I wouldn't know what I would do if you suddenly died like that in front of me".

Naruto smiled fondly to her affection as he returned the hug. "Don't worry, I won't leave you alone. You still have to see the world with me you know".

Hinata sniffled again as she nodded her head in his chest.

This moment would have lasted longer, but angry yells were then heard which caught the attention of the pair to which they parted with a slight blush.

"It's that bastard Gato I tell you. He's the one who started this fire".

"That greedy swine would go to any lengths to make profit!"

"First these outrageous taxes and now this!"

The pair listened to the rants as the crowd appeared quite angry with the circumstances. But it soon died down as their anger immediately turned to despair.

"Tazuna, what's going on here?" asked Naruto.

The elderly man sighed. "Not too long ago for no real reason, the land owner Gato raised out taxes beyond anything we could manage. Of course his taxes were always high, but as of late it was simply impossible to pay". He closed his eyes before reopening them. "Of course we tried to appeal for more lenience about this matter. But anyone who tried to reason with him was immediately cut down by his gang which included many villagers with Inari's step in father amongst them".

Tazuna looked at the villagers with sad eyes. "Due to this aggression we were simply too afraid to do anything more out of fear of death. With the way things are now we'll soon be kicked off these lands".

" . . . . Not unless I've got something to say about it" said Naruto.

"What are you up too? You're not going to do something foolish are you?"

"It seems pretty obvious" as the blond looked to the villagers. "You people have done nothing wrong and it isn't right that you have to pay for his greed".

"You fool! You'll be killed if you go there!"

Naruto smirked as he looked back. "No worries old man, I won't hurt them that badly".

"Let me go with you" said Hinata.

"It's going to be dangerous. So you should stay here with everyone else and let me deal with this matter".

"But . . . .!"

"Don't worry, there only a bunch of push-over after all" and with that Naruto ran off towards the Gato's mansion where he was going to do what many rash protagonist would do . . . . bust right in without a plan.

But hidden within the forest, a considerable amount of Gato's gang watched as the blond ran past towards their boss's place. Many laughed quietly at his action.

"What an idiot. What can one guy do against an army?"

"But that guy is really strong he defeated the last group that came here".

"So what if he beats a few at the mansion? That place is laced with traps and the chances of falling into one are high if you don't know your way around".

"You're probably right, so why are we here again?"

"To finish the job Gato-sama assigned to us".

~ Lord's Mansion ~

There was really no need to ask where Gato's mansion was since it stuck out like a sore thumb. "This guy lives way too luxuriously".

His mansion was pretty much a monument to his ego since it appeared to be the size of a mountain made of several expensive qualities of stone and metal.

Naruto eventually reached the entrance and saw two guards on duty. Even with their presence he made no effort to conceal himself as he strolled right up to them.

"Who are you?"

"State your reason of being?"

"I'm here to talk to your boss" as he speedily appeared next them punching them both in the stomach. "And I don't have time to mess around here".

He then proceeded into the house as he kicked the doors open. But upon entering his eyes bulged at what he saw. "Why can't there ever be a sign that says 'bad guy boss here'?"

In the central room which was more like a grand hall appeared an uncountable amount of doors. Naruto looked left to right as he thought which door to take. He then shrugged as he placed his hands to his hips. "Well there's the hard way and then there's the Uzumaki way".

At that statement, he lifted his arms as he formed a cross seal in front of him.

~ Village ~

"What a mess" said Tazuna. "With our reserves half depleted we won't have much to last the year. With taxes, the village is pretty much done for".

"Don't be sad Tazuna-san" said Hinata. "Naruto-kun will definitely bring about a compromise. So have faith in him".

"I hope so".

But in that moment the door slammed open as Inari came running in.

"Grandpa! Gato's gang is attacking the village!"

"What? Are you sure?"

Inari nodded, "we're currently trying to move as many people away. But they're indiscriminately attacking everyone and we simply don't have the ability to keep them at bay. At this rate everyone will be killed".

"What a catastrophe" as the elder man placed his hand to his face. But he then felt a rumble as he looked to his side to see his pale guest stand up looking quite serious.

"I'll buy some time. So take everyone you can to safety" said Hinata.

"Are you crazy? What can a girl like you do?"

"Just watch me".

To be continued . . . .

Author's notes: I have many hopes for this story and I hope everyone who reads it enjoys what I had dreamt of it.

So at this point in time I have already decided where to place everyone from the beginning to the very end of the story.

Additionally, I have no idea when this story will end since I had so many dreams for it. But please bear with me until the twilight where the story will reach its climax because it will be quite a while until Naruto and Hinata will reach that point.

But anyways I thank you for taking the time to read this fic and I further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.